Devonshire Colts were in no mood for handing out early Christmas gifts in this Dudley Eve second round clash at White Hill Field yesterday, knocking the stuffing out of rivals PHC to secure the first berth in this year's final.

Thanks to second-half goals by Ellington Weldon and hard-working midfielder Keenan Burchall, giving them a 3-1 lead after 66 minutes, Colts effectively put the match out of their opponents' reach.

A spirited PHC side fought back and made it close through Stanton Lewis' goal after 85 minutes. But time ran out and the Zebras now need a victory on Boxing Day to earn a final place under the double elimination format.

Both teams fell down in attack during the opening half when promising build-ups ended with misdirected passes before reaching the penalty box.

As a result neither goalkeeper was tested with a direct shot on goal and play was often uninspiring.

PHC centreback Dano Outerbridge came close early on when his blast from a free kick whistled inches wide of the post while Mark Ray of Colts replied with a fine effort after 19 minutes, his chip from 17 yards barely clearing the crossbar.

Colts, however, made the breakthrough after PHC goalkeeper Jason Robinson had dived to push a fierce drive from Ray around the post. From the resulting corner, left-winger Kemon Lawrence curled his shot into the goal to put Colts 1-0 up.

Lawrence and Keenan Burchall followed up by sending shots wide from inside the box while PHC's Kenny Mills and Anderson both fired efforts directly into the arms of goalkeeper Troy Hall.

When play re-started after the break, PHC seemed revitalised by a pep talk from coach Jack Castle. And it wasn't long before they were back on level terms, Sheridan Ming scoring from close range after a neat build-up that saw left-back Corey Dowling and winger Tokia Russell combining well.

PHC took a decisive edge and might have taken the lead after 63 minutes but Mills fired his shot from 15 yards straight at 'keeper Hall.

Colts, however, began to show some confidence in their build-ups, and thanks to the work in midfield of Keenan Burchall, the momentum suddenly switched.

PHC's defence looked desperate when Weldon raced down the left flank and brilliantly shrugged off challenges of Dano Outerbridge and Anwar Hunt before unleashing an angled shot that squeezed into goal.

With a 2-1 lead, they maintained the pressure and took a comfortable 3-1 edge after 66 minutes when Ray's blast from close in rebounded off the goalkeeper and Burchall was there to hammer the ball home from eight yards.

Then came one of the worst misses of the game when Colts should have gone 4-1 up. Ray could only watch in agony as his volley from a fine cross by Jermaine Belboda went wide from just 10 yards out.

PHC continued to fight and were rewarded for their determination when Stanton Lewis smartly headed home a free kick by substitute Mike Williams after 85 minutes.

But Colts' defence, marshalled by skipper Shannon Burgess, held firm until the end.

Devonshire Colts: T.Hall; Jermal Belboda, J.Samuels, S.Burgess, Jermaine Belboda; V.Ball, K.Burchall, A.Zuill (K.Smith, 45 mins); M.Ray, E.Weldon, K.Lawrence (Q.Aberdeen, 70 mins).

PHC: J.Robinson; E.Hunt (M.Williams, 84 mins), D.Outerbridge, D.Burgess, C.Dowling (B.Bean, 58 min); B.Anderson, O.Steede (W.Trott, 75 mins), S.Lewis; T.Russell, K.Mills, S.Ming.

Referee: Richard Knight Men of the match Keenan Burchall (Colts); Kenny Mills (PHC)